Update 6-17-14

 

Hi,

 

First, a timely "Thank You" from the recipient of this year's Vince Tampio scholarship, Jonathan Persaud:

 

    Wednesday, June 11, 2014

 

    Dear Alumni,

 

    I am formally writing this letter to you as the recipient of the Vince Tampio Theater Award. Firstly I would like to extend my thanks and gratitude for granting me this award, it was a pleasure and an honor to be the recipient of an award founded for someone of such prestige in the theater community as Mr. Tampio. His legacy is one of great magnitude, and is one that will live on in the minds and hearts of theater students everywhere.

    I am currently going into college as a forensics major; however in my college years I do intend to spend my extracurricular time in clubs that will further my involvement in theater and the arts. I also intend upon returning to my high school to help produce future productions, and help students unlock their potential in theater.

    By awarding me the Vince Tampio scholarship you have lightened my financial burden which allows me to focus more on the most important aspect of school, learning. Your generosity has inspired me to help others and give back to the community. I hope one day I will be able to help students achieve their goals just as you have helped me.

 

    Sincerely,

 

    Jonathan Persaud

 

[Rich -- I sent Jonathan a "Your Welcome" from all of us.  And both scholarship checks have been cashed, early this year, maybe because I wrote on them, "Please deposit as soon as possible."]

 

Next, a recent entry from a column called "Artists Making Their Mark," text by Sara C Evans and part of early notice about Mary Sipp Green's forthcoming monograph:

    Mary Sipp Green works in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts, in a studio overlooking the Housatonic River. Flooded with northern light, her space is lined with landscape paintings in various formats and stages of completion, and with pencil sketches from her extensive travels in Europe and the United States. An inheritor of America’s luminist and tonalist traditions, Green is devoted to dawns and dusks, early mornings and twilit evenings — to those moments when time seems to stand still, if only briefly. Green’s paintings are at once specific to their locations and universal in feeling. She is equally adept at painting Tuscan farmhouses surrounded by fields of poppies, barns in winter, and ferries crossing the sea toward Martha’s Vineyard. Each picture manages to evoke both a sense of mystery and one of familiarity. Spacious skies, hills, flatlands, meadows, oceans, and streams — all reflect Green’s love of wandering, as well as her sense of being deeply rooted in place. Each new locale becomes a source of excitement for her, each painting a new adventure. A native New Yorker born to an artist father, Green embraced landscape painting only after training at the Fashion Institute of Technology and pursuing a career in apparel design. This was, she recalls, “a serious life change.” Upon moving north to the Berkshires, she was mentored by two well-known artists, Leo Garel and Bessie Boris. Garel was both a tough taskmaster and an encouraging teacher. At one point, he told Green to go away and not return until she had found a gallery to represent her. She landed one, partly because she has never doubted her abilities as an artist. Green sketches outdoors in pencil, making meticulous notes and carrying home her color observations not only on paper, but also in the mind and eye. Back in the studio, she paints in oils on linen. Although Green approaches each new work with a plan, sometimes that plan goes awry.“ The painting tells you what it needs,”she observes. “And sometimes, it tells you it’s all wrong, and you have to go back and start over. I use many layers of paint, allowing each to dry before the next is applied. Along the way, the surface of the paint is often refigured in unpredictable ways, and there is much that has to be scraped, sanded, destroyed, and reapplied before the essence of a place, its mood and atmosphere, finally emerge.”In September, a monograph titled Every Hour of the Light: The Paintings of Mary Sipp Green will be published by the Artist Book Foundation(New York City). Green is represented by Wally Findlay Galleries International (New York City, Palm Beach, Barcelona), the Granary Gallery (Martha’s Vineyard), and Harrison Gallery (Williamstown, MA)

 

Third, more sadly, a reminder from Barbara Blitfield Pech, sent originally from her temple:  In accordance with the Jewish tradition of honoring the memory of a departed loved one, we are writing to inform you that the yahrzeit of Robin Feit Baker will occur this year on Monday, June 23, 2014.

    The memorial yahrzeit candle should be kindled on the evening of Sunday, June 22, 2014. We further memorialize our loved ones through the recitation of Kaddish. The name of Robin Feit Baker will be read before we recite Kaddish in our prayers at our Shabbat Service on Friday, June 27, 2014.

    May the gifts you bestow upon others come back to you many times over. B'Ahavat Olam with LOVE always.

 

[Rich -- Barbara also notes, "I still haven't come to terms with this," and someone else I was speaking with recently said, "I can't believe it's been almost a year."  Either can I, but it's a good time to think about Robin and the others from South we've lost this year.]

 

A follow-up, from Peter Rosen:  I was able to confirm and clarify my reservations at the reunion hotel in Hauppauge.  Because I had enough points in my Hyatt Gold Passport account, I was able to get a deal of $55 and 4000 points for each night.  Hope that can help other people in some way.

 

There were also notes from 7 additional readers of these updates, all from the class of '65, commenting on the possibility of attaching these newsletters to a Long Island history archive.  I won't go into the details because most of the people were writing me privately, but 6 of the 7 said they liked the idea.  That's a total of 6 for, 3 against, and approximately 141 maybe to be heard from.  As I've said before, there's no rush.  If this is going to happen, it's not going to happen soon.

    There was one suggestion that we publish a book privately, available to South alumni and contributors.  If I ever to assemble the newsletters as one document, the file will be available to any of those South people who are interested at no cost.  There was also another suggestion that basically said, "If this is a lot of work, don't make yourself crazy."  As Elaine Stritch and many others have toasted, "I'll drink to that."

 

A note from Tom McPartland gently requesting class of '64 members who said they were interested in coming to their October reunion to please send in their checks.  So if you happen to be one of those people,  make Tom happy.  Presently, about 80 people want to come to their party, and 30 have paid for their meals.

 

A note from Paul Zegler, writing on behalf of the tortoises AZ and Touche, thanking us for "the nice story."

 

A note from me mentioning that I'm traveling next week.  So next week's newsletter may be a week late.

 

Finally, 11 days late, a link to some more historic photographs.  These compare sites on D-Day to the same places today.  As usual, please remove the spaces:

m . theatlantic . com/infocus/2014/06/scenes-from-d-day-then-and-now/100752/?utm_source=nextdraft&utm_medium=iosappx

 

The repeating upcoming reunion information:

 

The class of '64 reunion:  Friday, October 10, 2014, 6 to 11 PM.  $70 per person, cash bar.  Hyatt Regency, Hauppague, New York.  Committee phone numbers:  Tom McPartland  570-223-2577.  Ken Silver: 631-463-2217.  Bette Silver: 631-463-2216.

 

The class of '65  50th Reunion:  April 24 through April 26, 2015, Hyatt Regency, Hauppauge. 

 

The South '65 e-mail addresses: reunionclass65 . blogspot . com  (remove the spaces)

 

The South '65 photo site: picasaweb . google . com/SouthHS65    (ditto)

 

 

Rich